1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capacitor and, more particularly, to a heated capacitor and a method of forming the heated capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A capacitor is a well-known electronics device that stores an electric charge. Capacitors have lower and upper conducting plates which are separated by an insulating material. A capacitor can be formed on a semiconductor die as a stand-alone structure, or as part of an integrated circuit.
One common use of capacitors is to protect other electronic circuits from an electric surge that results from an external event. For example, the lower plate of a capacitor can be connected to ground, while the upper plate of the capacitor can be connected to an antenna and an RF front end so that the capacitor protects the RF front end and associated circuitry from a lighting strike to the antenna.
One problem with capacitors that are used to provide protection from an electric surge that is some insulating materials are sensitive to humidity, which can significantly degrade the performance of the capacitor. For example, all polymers, such as polyimide, are sensitive to moisture, which can reduce the performance of a capacitor from 5,000V to only 2,000V. Thus, there is a need for an approach to eliminating moisture problems.